Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100239426 | Wind Turbine Blade with Damping Element - A blade for a wind turbine generally comprises a shell body defined by first and second shells extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge, an inner spar supporting at least a portion of the shell body, and a damping element coupled to at least one of the shell body or inner spar. The damping element is configured to move relative to the shell body to dissipate vibrations of the blade, and has a greater degree of freedom in a flapwise direction between the first and second shells than in an edgewise direction between the leading and trailing edges. | 09-23-2010 |
20110223021 | WIND TURBINE ROTOR BLADE - A wind turbine rotor blade is provided with a mechanism for modifying the camber of the blade. The mechanism acts over a region of the blade surface, the region including a portion of the trailing edge of the blade. Modifying the camber of the blade can increase the lift on the blade and thus the mechanism can be used to optimise blades for operation at high altitude sites where, for example, air density is lower than at sea level. Blades can be produced to the same design and then optimised for operation at differing air densities. The mechanism may be actuated mechanically or hydraulically. In the latter case the mechanism may be operated from the hub of a wind turbine. | 09-15-2011 |
20110236215 | WIND TURBINE CONTROL SURFACE HINGE - A wind turbine rotor blade has a plurality of trailing edge flaps, the upper surfaces of which are formed as a continuation of the blade skin. The flap deflects about a hinge line in the skin. The hinge line has a plurality of spaced apart slots to prevent the hinge from popping up as the blade deflects in a flapwise direction. The slots are filled with a soft deformable material and the skin around the slots is reinforced during the manufacturing process. | 09-29-2011 |
20110293433 | ENHANCING STIFFNESS OF WIND TURBINE BLADES - Edgewise stiffness of a wind turbine blade is enhanced by arranging a tension element between anchor points at the ends of a load bearing member in the turbine blade such as a spar or a beam. The tension element is spaced away from the load bearing member on the trailing edge side of the load bearing member by struts and acts as a suspension cable. Several tension elements may be used and a similar tension element may be arranged on the leading edge side of the load bearing member. | 12-01-2011 |
20120068469 | WIND TURBINE ROTOR BLADE - A wind turbine blade extending in a longitudinal direction from a root end to a tip end and defining an aerodynamic airfoil cross-section between a leading edge and a trailing edge in a chordwise direction transverse to the longitudinal direction, the aerodynamic airfoil cross-section having an effective camber in the chordwise direction; the wind turbine blade comprising: blade body; first device for modifying the aerodynamic surface or shape of the blade, the position and/or movement of the first device relative to the blade body being controlled by a first actuation mechanism; second device for modifying the effective camber of the airfoil cross section; herein, in use, the first device modifies the aerodynamic surface or shape of the blade at a frequency up to a first maximum frequency and the second device modifies the effective camber of the airfoil cross section at a frequency up to a second maximum frequency, the second maximum frequency being higher than the first maximum frequency. | 03-22-2012 |
20120070283 | HINGED CONNECTION APPARATUS FOR SECURING A FIRST WIND TURBINE COMPONENT TO A SECOND - A hinged connection apparatus is described for securing a first wind turbine component to a second. The first wind turbine component may be a wind turbine blade ( | 03-22-2012 |
20120070284 | HINGE APPARATUS FOR CONNECTING FIRST AND SECOND WIND TURBINE BLADE COMPONENTS COMPRISING A ROTARY ACTUATOR - A hinged connection apparatus is described for securing a first wind turbine blade component to a second. The first wind turbine component may be a wind turbine blade body ( | 03-22-2012 |
20120093651 | WIND TURBINE BLADE HAVING A HINGED CONNECTION APPARATUS PROVIDING ELECTRICAL PROTECTION - A hinged connection apparatus is described for securing a first wind turbine component to a second. The first wind turbine component may be a wind turbine blade and the second wind turbine component may be a control surface such as an aileron. The first or second wind turbine component comprises at least one hinge housing ( | 04-19-2012 |
20120134802 | WIND TURBINE BLADE CONTROL - A wind turbine variable is controlled by detecting air flow conditions in front of the leading edge of the blade. One or more Laser Doppler Anemometers are mounted on or incorporated into the blade to determine air flow velocity in the region in front of the leading edge of the blade. The measured flow conditions may be used to control the position of a control surface such as a trailing edge flap or the rotor speed. The LDAs may comprise lasers of different frequencies to enable more than one component of flow velocity to be measured. | 05-31-2012 |
20120171036 | OPTICAL ANGLE OF ATTACK DETECTOR BASED ON LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING (LIDAR) FOR CONTROL OF AN AERODYNAMIC SURFACE - Methods and apparatus for optically detecting an angle of attack for an airfoil using light detection and ranging (LIDAR). To determine the angle of attack, one or more light beam pulses may be emitted from the leading edge of the airfoil into an (apparently) flowing fluid at various emission angles. The emitted pulses may be backscattered by particles in the fluid, and the backscattered light may be received by a detector at the airfoil. By range gating the returning pulses of backscattered light, a fluid velocity may be determined for each of the emission angles. The angle of attack is identified as the emission angle corresponding to the maximum velocity. A parameter (e.g., pitch or speed) of the airfoil may be controlled based on the angle of attack. In this manner, the airfoil may be manipulated or the shape of the airfoil may be adjusted for increased performance or efficiency. | 07-05-2012 |
20120269632 | FLAP CONTROL FOR WIND TURBINE BLADES - A wind turbine blade has one or more trailing edge flaps. An actuator mechanism for the flaps comprises a shaft extending along the blade length driven by a motor arrangement toward the blade root. The flap is connected to the shaft through a linkage so that rotation of the shaft pivots the flap about a hinge line. The linkage may be non-rigid and coupled to the shaft through a roller, or rigid and coupled to the shaft through a crank arm mounted on the shaft. An offset actuation mechanism is provided for imparting movement to the linkage in addition to movement due to rotation of the shaft. | 10-25-2012 |
20120282105 | WIND TURBINE BLADE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A WIND TURBINE BLADE WITH VORTEX GENERATORS - A wind turbine for generating electrical energy may include a wind turbine blade including a plurality of vortex generators integrally formed in the outer surface of the blade. The vortex generator includes a first component that defines a portion of the outer surface of the blade and a second component defining the shape of the vortex generator and at least partially surrounded by the first component. A method of manufacturing the wind turbine blade includes disposing a first plurality of layers of structural material over a mold main body and a removable insert member with a shaped cavity. A shaped plug is then pressed into the shaped cavity, and a second plurality of layers of structural material is disposed over the plug and the mold main body to complete manufacture of a wind turbine blade with a vortex generator. | 11-08-2012 |
20130046492 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FORECASTING WIND ENERGY - A method for forecasting wind energy production is disclosed. The method includes collecting power data indicative of power output from a set of wind energy installations with a first wind energy installation at a first site and a second wind energy installation at a second site, and estimating the available power output at a forecasting site located at a geographic position. The estimating is based on power data from the set of wind energy installations by projecting the power data towards the future and/or the geographic position of the forecasting site. Further disclosed is a method for scheduling wind energy production for an electricity grid and a wind energy production forecasting system configured for forecasting output power of a wind energy installation. | 02-21-2013 |
20140070538 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING WIND TURBINES FROM EXTREME EVENTS - A wind turbine has a scanning Lidar arranged on the nacelle. The Lidar has a single scanning beam which scans about a substantially vertical axis to sense wind related data in a measurement volume a predetermined distance from the Lidar. Fast Fourier transforms of data from a plurality of points in the measurement volume are analysed to derive a peak velocity and a measure of variance. A controller receives the peak velocity and measure of variance as inputs and generates an output if the controller determines that the input data shows that the wind conditions are such that damage to the wind turbine is likely. | 03-13-2014 |
20150050144 | METHOD FOR IMPROVING LARGE ARRAY WIND PARK POWER PERFORMANCE THROUGH ACTIVE WAKE MANIPULATION REDUCING SHADOW EFFECTS - Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and apparatus for increasing turbulent mixing in the wake of at least one wind turbine. Doing so, increases efficiency of a wind turbine located in the wake by transferring energy to the wake that was lost when the wind passed through the upwind turbine. Turbulent mixing may be increased by changing the induction factor for a rotor by, for example, altering the pitch of the blades, the RPMs of the rotor, or the yaw of the nacelle. These techniques may be static or dynamically changing. Further, the different induction factors for a plurality of wind turbines may be synchronized according to a predetermined pattern to further increase turbulent mixing. | 02-19-2015 |